Sheldon's Deal
by kumikokat
Summary: Sheldon meets his ideal woman, but he doesn't know the protocol for this kind of situation, and so turns to Penny and Missy for advice. Family meddling ensues.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Just an idea I had, because I thought Sheldon deserved a girl. I love Sheldon **

Prologue 

Sheldon spreads a napkin over his lap while Raj and Howard look at their menus. Sheldon, who had his order memorised but still wasn't sure about that "tangerine" chicken, wondered why Leonard wasn't here yet and what they would do if he didn't show. He shuddered. It didn't bear thinking about! What would they do about the dumplings? It was that Howard-less fiasco all over again.

"Who's the girl with Leonard?" Howard asked, his voice full of disbelief. Sheldon followed his gaze and spotted his small friend near the door, where one of the waiters was pointing him towards their table.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," Leonard arrived at the table, looking a little breathless, "this is Kumiko." The girl behind him, who looked faintly Japanese, smiled shyly. Sheldon looked her up and down, judging, calculating. He supposed his friends, who seemed to do little else than think about women, would think her "attractive".

"Bonsoir, mademoiselle." Howard stood up too fast. "Howard Wolowitz."

"Yeah, Howard has a girlfriend," Leonard informed Kumiko quickly.

"So does Leonard," Howard retorted, glaring at his friend.

"I hope you guys don't mind that I invited Kumiko to dinner," Leonard said, sitting down next to Sheldon. Kumiko sat down on the chair at the end of the table.

"Not at all," Howard grinned. Sheldon sat in stony silence, sensing that it would be better not to voice his views on the matter. Now they would have to get extra dumplings.

"So how do you two know each other?" Howard asked, feigning interest.

"Kumiko just started working at the university," Leonard told him enthusiastically, "she's a physicist too."

"Really?" Howard smiled, no, leered at her. She attempted a smile in return.

"Yes, I started today," she said, looking at the table, "um...doctor Leslie Winkle seemed excited to collaborate with me on my new research."

"What are you working on?" Leonard asked, but before Kumiko could answer a waiter appeared, ready to take their order.

Sheldon gave his standard order, as did Raj, Howard and Leonard. Kumiko took a moment before deciding to have the same as Sheldon. The waiter started to walk away.

"Wait," Kumiko called the waiter back, chewing her lip nervously, "I would like to see your kitchen, so as to check the hygiene standards." She began to stand up. The waiter looked flustered.

"I can assure you, the kitchen hygiene is more than adequate," Sheldon told her, "I demanded to see it the first time I was here."

Kumiko laughed and the waiter made a quick escape. She sat back down, a little reluctantly, Raj noticed.

"I don't really eat at places I haven't been before," Kumiko admitted, "but I just moved here, so I haven't been anywhere before."

"Quite understandable. I don't go to strange restaurants either."

They smiled at each other, and Sheldon's smile was pure and genuine, and the weirdest thing was... it wasn't terrifying. Raj raised an eyebrow, and looked at Howard, whose mouth was hanging open. His expression clearly said _what the frack?_


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Leonard had never seen Sheldon so quiet.

He didn't speak a word in the car on the way home, just stared out of the window at the dark streets of Pasadena as they rushed past. Sheldon was, strange as it may have been, confused. He had coal black hair in his head, dark eyes, pale skin, ruby red lips. Her soft, unmistakeably American accent which did not match her Asian face resounded in his ears. What he didn't understand was..._why_?

She was like a complex calculation; stuck in Sheldon's head long after he had walked away from his board.

Kumiko was smart. Insanely so. Almost (dare he admit it?) as smart as him. And she could be regarded as pretty, he supposed, even beautiful. But he'd met plenty of women like that. Why had this one made such an impression?

"Sheldon?" Leonard roused him from his thoughts. "We're back."

Sheldon became aware that, yes, they were indeed stationary. He got out of the car, followed Leonard into the building. They climbed the stairs. When they got to the apartment, he went to bed. But he couldn't sleep. There was a cacophony of thoughts flooding through his head, torturing him. He was meant to be Spock – a creature of logic. He had never been able to understand his friends and their near constant talk of women. Had never been able to understand the attraction they held. Didn't see how they could have such power over men's emotions.

Until now.

With that terrifying thought, he drifted into uneasy sleep.

_________________

"Penny?"

Three short, impatient knocks.

"Penny?"

She glanced at the clock next to her. 6.45. This better be good.

She pulled her pink robe around her and stumbled, bleary-eyed, in the general direction of the door.

"What the hell do you want Sheldon?"

"I have a problem."

She would have told him to go away, but he sounded so damn panicked! And there was a weird kind of confusion and fear in his usually cold and calculating eyes.

"Come in, Sheldon."

He scurried inside, like a frightened deer. Sat down on the green-and-white chair that was his spot when he was at Penny's. He didn't look comfortable. He looked ready to bolt, like one of those cows that knew it was about to be branded. Penny sat down on the couch, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and tried to listen.

"There's a new physicist at work. Her name is Kumiko."

"Yeah, Leonard told me."

"Well, she invited Raj, Leonard and me to her apartment for dinner tonight, as a thank you for the Chinese food. I told her tonight was Halo Night. She said we could play Halo on her Xbox."

"And?" Penny was becoming irritated.

"Leonard said we would go."

"Get to the point Sheldon!"

"Penny...I...you're a woman."

"I thought you were supposed to be smart?"

"Not just smart! I have an IQ of 187, and-,"

"Sheldon! Tell me your problem!" Penny cut him off, sensing a Sheldon-y rant coming on.

"Well, its Kumiko, I...can't seem to stop...I have a feeling that...she..."

"_Shel_don," Penny could feel a smile spreading across her face, "do you...like her?"

He looked down.

"What should I do? How do I make this...feeling go away?"

"Well, why would you want it to go away, sweetie?"

"Human relationships baffle and repulse me. I believe I have stated that previously, so..." he reached out to Penny with a shaking hand, "what do I do?"

Penny blinked, looked at Sheldon's hand. She moved to the edge of the couch, reached out and took it in her own. Sheldon looked so lost, so confused. Like a little boy without his mom. She looked into his eyes and saw a new side to him, still as obnoxious, still as tactless, but one that didn't have the advantage of knowledge. Was that why he was so smart? Was that just him filling the space in his brain that normal people use for people skills?

"Sweetie, you remember you told me about Schrodinger's cat?"

He nodded slowly, looking a tad wary, like he knew what was coming.

"I think this applies in your situation. You have to open the box."

________________

Kumiko's building wasn't too far from their own. The absence of Wolowitz, who had a date with Bernadette, meant that they could play teams, which delighted Sheldon. Her place was a little bare, but, as she reminded the guys, she had only just moved in. Her plain white walls were plastered with posters: Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Saturn 3, The Matrix, Terminator, Legend of Zelda, Ms. Pacman, and many others that Sheldon couldn't see because of the carefully ordered mess of books, action figures and vintage movie memorabilia. A few boxes hadn't unpacked yet, but her TV, laptop, and Xbox were all wired up and ready to go, although another four boxes, all marked "consoles and games", still had wires spilling out of them and Sheldon wondered what other consoles she liked.

Something was cooking that smelled good, and Kumiko was more than happy to show Sheldon the cleanliness in her kitchen, which was bordering on obsessive, even in Sheldon's opinion. He smiled slightly when he noticed that her cereals were arranged by fibre content.

While Kumiko finished cooking, Sheldon wandered around to find his spot. He shooed Raj out of his seat more than once to try it, discarding each option one by one (glare, draught, had to crane his neck to see the TV, at an angle at which the light from the window obscured the picture of the TV) until he found a winged armchair which seemed to be the best option. Kumiko brought out the food on a tray and set it down on the coffee table. The guys each took a bowl but Kumiko didn't sit down. She stayed where she was, staring at Sheldon.

"Sheldon? You're in my spot."

Leonard and Raj shared a look. Raj giggled behind his hand.

Sheldon, looking indignant, looked ready to burst into a rant. Leonard, although he knew this would be entertaining, intervened.

"It's her apartment Sheldon."

"Fine," he snapped, "Raj, move, you're sitting in the second best spot."

That cut his giggling short.

They ate spaghetti with a weird kind of tomato/vegetable sauce ("it was my own invention but I swear its safe") which was bizarre but not entirely unpleasant. Then they played Halo. Kumiko played with Raj, against Sheldon and Leonard.

Kumiko was a fantastic player, better than Leonard and Raj combined. Sheldon put up a valiant effort, but was, in the end beaten. Leonard waited for the hissy fit, the cry of "she cheated!" but he just congratulated her, complimented her, even called her _a worthy opponent._

Before the guys left, Kumiko asked to see Sheldon's phone. He gave it to her, and while she played with it he took the liberty of doing the washing up. He left the bowls and utensils, sparkling clean, on her drying rack. When he looked through his phone in the car to check for damage, he found that she had put her number in his address book.

Subconsciously, he smiled.


End file.
